Drug addict Toowoomba nurse did not die in vain

Pam has been at the Daily Mercury since March 2013 and has also worked as a journalist in Batemans Bay and Wellington both in NSW. And yes, that does make her a Blues supporter. Growing up she moved around different places including Sydney, Moree, Wollongong and lived for about two years as a high school student on a small island in Micronesia called Pohnpei. Pam loves water sports, including SCUBA diving, snorkelling and kayaking but her awful balance means she’ll never touch a surf board. Ever...

Ms Clements also said the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) did not detect Ms Howman had a drug dependency problem, even though she was under its supervision and had to be drug tested.

She was under the watch of AHPRA after she was found unconscious in the toilet at her workplace, Toowoomba Base Hospital, in 2010. She had injected herself with the same drug that killed her three years later.

Ms Clements said it was "somewhat surprising" that AHPRA did not screen the nurse for broader opiate drugs.

"(Ms Howman) was never prescribed Fentanyl, but she worked in a critical care ward where there was opportunity, despite safeguards, that she might access opioids," she said.

Ms Clements said the inquest was assured that AHPRA would now routinely order these broad screenings.

Ms Clements also recommended that colleagues of a staff member being supervised under AHPRA would be notified about restrictions placed on their workmate.